More Nations Issue Security Alerts in Manila

More Western nations called on their citizens to be cautious in the Philippine capital on Saturday following a U.S. embassy warning a day earlier of an unspecified threat against Americans.

The warnings issued by the British, Canadian and Australian governments called on their citizens to be cautious amid fears they could get caught up in an attempted attack against Americans.

"Any attack could be indiscriminate and we advise British nationals to exercise particular caution and extra vigilance in places frequented by expatriates and foreign nationals," the British foreign office alert said.

The Canadian foreign affairs office said "continuing reports suggest that there is an ongoing terrorist threat to Westerners and Western interests in the Philippines.”

On Friday, the U.S. embassy warned that a threat against Americans in the capital had been detected by "reliable security forces.”

"This threat remains in effect until October 10, 2012," the advisory said.

The U.S. embassy would not elaborate on the danger.

Asked about the advisories, Philippine military spokesman Colonel Arnulfo Burgos said "as far as the armed forces are concerned, we have not monitored any specific threat.”

However he said the military would continue to work with the police and other agencies to boost security.

The country's national police force was not available for comment.

The U.S. government issued an alert in November 2010 that warned of an attack in Manila, particularly areas frequented by foreigners, which also prompted similar travel advisories from Britain, Australia, Canada, New Zealand and France.

The attack never materialized and President Benigno Aquino subsequently criticized the United States and other Western allies for damaging his country's tourism prospects.

The United States has a general warning about the risks of travel in the Philippines, a former U.S. colony that has for decades battled Islamic separatist rebels and more hardline Muslim militants in the far south of the country.

The Abu Sayyaf, a small band of Muslim militants that authorities say was set up in the early 1990s with funds from the al-Qaida network, has kidnapped and killed Americans in the southern Mindanao region in recent years.

About 600 U.S. troops have been rotating through the southern Philippines for a decade to help train local troops in hunting the Abu Sayyaf. However the Americans are barred from taking part in combat.